Editorial: Marin supervisors' stumbling entry into GGNRA dog fight

COUNTY SUPERVISORS' public consideration of a proposed crackdown on off-leash dogs in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area was far from picture perfect.

Given the years that this debate has been going on and the recent expanded time allotted for public comment, there was little excuse for Supervisor Kate Sears to ask her fellow board members to endorse a last-minute resolution to oppose GGNRA's plans.

The vast GGNRA, a 125-square-mile park that stretches across three counties, is the only federal park that allows dogs off-leash. Its original proposal to require dog owners to have their pets on-leash drew loud public protests. That led to a follow-up proposal that sets on-leash rules for most of the park, but still allows a few off-leash areas, five of them in Marin.

Other politicians, such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, have spoken out against the GGNRA plan, urging the park service to send its draft plan back to the drawing boards.

The Marin Board of Supervisors has remained quiet on the new plan. That is, until the 11th hour for public comment, when Sears, the board's president, put the matter on the agenda.

It is an issue where battle lines have been drawn and opinions are strong.

But supervisors have stayed out of the public fray, until Tuesday. They should have weighed in much earlier.

Sears said county supervisors should take a stand because the designation of off-leash areas — a "de facto ban of dogs" — will send those dogs and dog owners to county parks.

Interestingly, there was no word from county parks staff advising the board.

Her colleagues bristled.

Supervisor Susan Adams, rightly, scolded Sears for her "last-minute" proposal and said she felt uncomfortable about the board's public process. She noted, correctly, that the county's proposed rules for its trails and open space also crack down on off-leash dogs.

Sears could have sent a letter on her own instead of asking the board to take a last-minute stand.

In the end, the stand was watered-down from Sears' original request, asking GGNRA officials to take another look at their draft plan.

Federal park officials are establishing different rules for different paths, beaches and parklands. They should make publicly clear their reasoning for each area.

The GGNRA, for months, has been asking for public comment. This certainly is not a new issue, but supervisors have not publicly reviewed and discussed the new proposal, until the last board meeting before the Feb. 18 deadline for comments.

Sears is not a seasoned politician like her board colleagues. She's had to take a crash course in local politics.

But it is ironic that county supervisors are now telling the federal government to spend more time on its public process, when it's clear the county's public consideration was, by comparison, far less publicly deliberative.